Cats suddenly hate each other..

irlblae

I'm hoping someone can help me. I have five cats, all indoor. Three male and two female. For the past month or so two of my male cats have refused to be near each other. They used to be the best of friends and would happily play away and cuddle etc. Now if they're even in the same vicinity, the older more dominant one will only have to give the other one a look and he scurries away with his tail between his legs. This is completely out of character for both of them. Nothings changed as of late but I did adopt a female kitten back in September that none of them like (she's a little terror). Could she be the problem? I'm really not sure what to do. The younger male cat is very sensitive and relied on the older one for comfort so seeing him being shunned by him like this is breaking my heart. Any advice?

Themadhouse

are they all neutered, inc the new girl?

Themadhouse

Reason i ask is that if she isnt neutered she could be playing for top spot causing the older male to react to the other boy.

irlblae

Yes all are neutered.

Themadhouse

Have you vet checked him, just incase something is off with him

Graces7

Maybe just that relationships grow and change? My newest boy knows that well as my bosscat still wallops him if he gets out of line. Sometimes all is well for days then it erupts again

VonVix

How old are the male cats?

Are either of them behaving differently in any way, aside from their interaction with each other?

irlblae

They're both five. They're about 9 months apart. No they're both acting normal apart from that. The older one has made my other female cat (not the kitten) his new companion and now sleeps with and grooms her. Not that he didn't do that before but she's the only one who he happily interacts with whereas he doesn't want to be near the other three.

Ms Doubtfire1

It will settle again over time. I have lots of cats and there are always spats between individuals but never anything serious and it usually settles back down after a month.Have your cats high places they can retreat to? For me thats easy as I have plenty of trees around..but yours are indoor?

irlblae

Well that makes me feel better. I'm with them right now and can feel the tension any time they look at each other. It's extremely strange! Yes they have plenty of places to retreat to, including indoor cat trees.

VonVix

Maybe give Feliway a try? It might calm things down a bit. http://www.feliway.com/uk

Ms Doubtfire1

irlblae wrote: »

Well that makes me feel better. I'm with them right now and can feel the tension any time they look at each other. It's extremely strange! Yes they have plenty of places to retreat to, including indoor cat trees.

Anything up really high? Cats love to go up high, as high up as they can. I always found a high placed book shelve was really appreciated...by cats.Once they had dropped the books. usually on me..or the dogs.:D

SillyMangoX

My cats go through phases of loving/hating each other. It used to be worse when we still had Dude, the poor fella didn't know from one day to the next whether Peach was going to groom him or slap him Even between Peach and Cream who have been together for the past 8 years, they go through times where they want to rip each other apart, have come down to them in the morning to find blood and fur around the place yet the next evening they are cuddled up fast asleep together.
Feliway or pet remedy could be good to settle things down, I think feliway have a new product out specifically for multi cat households.
The other, non practical, thing I have found is bringing a dog into the house. The cats team up to stay away from the dog and suddenly love each other :pac: